Life Without Cable – Start Saving More Money Today

A few months ago, we finally got rid of cable. Since cutting cable out of our lives, we haven’t missed it one bit. We are still watching all of our favorite shows, we can still watch the news, and we don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything at all. There has only been one…

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Last Updated: May 25, 2023

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

How To Cut Cable - My Tips For Cutting Cable TodayA few months ago, we finally got rid of cable. Since cutting cable out of our lives, we haven’t missed it one bit.

We are still watching all of our favorite shows, we can still watch the news, and we don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything at all.

There has only been one time when I wished we still had cable and that was so that I could watch the newest season of Walking Dead. That will eventually come out on Netflix though, so I can wait for that – no problem at all.

According to NPD Group (a market research company), the average monthly cable bill in 2015 is expected to be $123. By the year 2020, the average cable bill is expected to be around $200 a month.

That’s a lot of money.

That’s $1,476 for 2015 alone. By 2020, the average annual cable bill would then be $2,400.

I know of many people who spend much more than this as well, such as someone who recently told me that they spend over $300 a MONTH on their cable bill. While that may seem crazy to you, I have heard of many people who pay this much money and sometimes even more for cable.

By learning how to cut cable, you could save thousands of dollars over your lifetime. That money could be better spent on retirement, traveling, family, and more.

Below are different areas that some of you have wondered about when it comes to cutting cable. Continue reading to learn how to cut cable today.

 

Cutting cable is easy with a digital antenna.

When you think about antennas, you probably think about the classic rabbit ears that are big and ugly. You probably also think about how the picture is never perfect and how channels can get blurry and almost completely fade away.

Well, these days antennas are no longer like that and this makes cutting cable much easier.  They are sleek looking and allow you to watch your favorite TV shows with no problem at all. There is no monthly cost, just a small upfront cost to buy the antenna. You just pay for the antenna once and you can watch local channels as much as you want.

We recently bought an antenna (you can go to this website and find many great antennas – this is an affiliate link, but I didn’t find out I could be an affiliate until after I was already using their antenna. I truly enjoy this product and recommend it!) and it has been working well for us. It’s an indoor one that sits behind our TV, there is no ugliness that goes along with it, and you can’t even see it.

The antenna gives us around 14 channels and they are all of great quality. The antenna was around $60 and it will allow us to save hundreds of dollars a year for years to come, so it was a great deal.

If you get an antenna, I’ve heard of others getting many more channels, sometimes even 50 or 60. If you are interested in learning how to cut cable and looking for alternatives to cable TV, I highly recommend getting an antenna.

 

We spend $8.99 a month on Netflix.

The only thing we spend money on monthly after cutting cable is Netflix. I can watch everything I want to because of Netflix and it’s nice because I don’t have to watch commercials or wait to see what happens after a cliffhanger.

The only bad thing about this is that we are watching a little too much Netflix. We’ve watched whole series of shows already but luckily we are getting a little better with controlling ourselves.

There are also many other options when it comes to still being able to watch your favorite TV shows after cutting cable. You could get Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, pay for the episodes you want to watch individually, and more. There are TONS of options out there.

 

We don’t watch sports so cutting cable was an easy decision.

Many people have asked “Oh, but what are you doing so that you can watch sports?”

Figuring out how to cut cable and whether it would work for us was easy since we don’t watch any sports on TV.

It’s really that simple.

 

How much money are we saving?

We aren’t saving a ton of money, I will be honest and say that. However, it was money we were just wasting though, as it was very rare whenever we did watch a TV show that wasn’t on a local channel or on Netflix. This is the main reason why we decided to get rid of cable, as it was useless and just another bill that we didn’t need in life.

We are saving around $41 each month and around $492 each year, after you subtract Netflix expenses.

We are also saving time. I used to have to talk to our cable company once every six months so that I could negotiate our cable bill down. Our cable company seemed to have a $10 or $20 increase a few times a year, and that is just insane. If we would have never negotiated, I’m sure our monthly cable bill would have been in the $100 or $200 range.

Are you planning on cutting cable? Are you interested in learning how to cut cable? How much is your monthly cable bill?

 


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Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Author: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I’m passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

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  1. Woohoo–nicely done! We’ve actually never had cable, and we’ve never felt like we needed it either. We have a Roku through which we’re able to access shows and, the best part is that it’s a one time expense (of $39), so there’s no monthly membership fees associated with it. Works for us! You’re so right that you can save a ton by eliminating cable!

  2. When we were focused on paying off our mortgage we cut our cable for two years. We didn’t miss it (although missing some sporting events was a hardship we had to endure) and our habits changed dramatically. Once the mortgage was paid off though we got it back. However, our viewing habits have stayed how they were when we didn’t have it. We don’t watch nearly as much TV as we used to.

  3. Jessica G

    We cut cable just over 3 years ago. We stream Netflix and recently added Sling to our Roku. Sling lets you watch HGTV, Disney, A&E, AMC, ESPN and a more channels. I missed HGTV so much! Cutting cable has saved us so much money, and has changed how we live. We can stay outside all day and night in the summer because we are not “misisng” anything. The shows on netflix will still be there when it rains and we are stuck inside.

  4. I think the time savings alone that comes from NOT watching TV is worth cutting cable. Saving money is just icing on the cake! 🙂

    1. Definitely worth it!

  5. I watch sports using a digital antenna, many of the big sporting events are on ABC, NBC, FOX, or CBS. So that’s not an issue. If I really want to see something on ESPN, I’ll go to a bar. Sure, it’s not cheap, but it doesn’t happen too often.

    I think that this is very location dependent though. I know many people who don’t get anything with their digital antennas, so definitely won’t work for everyone.

    1. Yeah, I agree. I was nervous that our small town wouldn’t offer many channels on the digital antenna (our town only has 12,000 people in it), but we still get everything we want thankfully.

  6. Pam

    I get SO UPSET with our cable company and our area is locked in so that we cannot switch without giving up our internet access. We already do Netflix, so the savings, after the initial cost of digital antenna, would be $140/mth = $1680/yr – but then we’d have to pay whatever for internet My problem is convincing my husband because of his love of sports. He’s not one to spend the afternoon or evening at a bar, often anyways, so that option doesn’t appeal to him. I’ll keep trying!

    1. Keep trying Pam! 🙂

  7. Our Xfinity bill is $202/month for cable, phone, internet, and home security. They seem to get ya if you want to cancel one or the other. I’m interested in SlingTV that another commenter talked about. I’ll have to look into that as the hubby and daughter watch sports constantly.

    1. Yes, I plan on looking into Sling as well!

  8. I haven’t had cable for so many years that when I’m in a cable situation, I’m completely overwhelmed by all of the choices.

    1. Yes, I could definitely see that happening!

  9. Yes, it’s great!

  10. Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank

    Michelle, I haven’t had cable and wouldn’t want to because I am frugal and wouldn’t want another expenses to pay. I just watch my favorite shows online or download it from torrent. 😀

  11. I guess I am the exception. We cut the cable a year and a half ago and I am pining for my favorite shows. I loved the Oprah Winfrey channel, Project Runway, Comedy Central, Face Off, Ink Mastered and tons of other shows you can’t get on Netflix. I even thought about re-cabeling lately, but I backed down when they are all 2year commitments and OWN is a high dollar premium channel. Sad face…

    1. Yeah it would be much harder if I watched shows on cable channels. My favorites are all on the free ones luckily! 🙂